Ein Lied
by MoonxLauri
Summary: Merman Frank and human Till


The sound of singing roused Frank from sleep. It was unusual enough what with how late in the night it was, but what drew him in was the way the man was singing.

"Er traf ein Mädchen, das war blind"

What a sad voice, Frank thought to himself as he slipped from the rock he had been lounging on and into the water. The baritone voice was moving closer and the merman wanted to hear more. It had been forever ago since Frank had heard such a gorgeous voice.

The reason for Frank's strong desire and curiosity to listen was that humans no longer came to croon to the ocean, they came only to serenade each other with words of love; and that was once upon a time. It made Frank mourn for the days of old, for the trading ships that used to crowd his home. The babble of human language that had slowly turned into coherent words had fascinated him. The fashions that came and went had also always been up for speculation.

Reise, Reise Seemann Reise

The fishermen had been a particular favorite of his. The boisterous way about them, the lewd words they used; ignorant of society's polite ways from being so long at sea.

Jeder tut's auf seine Weise

A few times the fishermen had caught sight of Frank, or the glitter of his tail as he dove and each time it had sent them into an uproar. Many of the men had thought of him as dangerous and so threw gifts into the ocean to try and appease him.

Der eine stößt den Speer zum Mann

Der andere zum Fische dann

Flowers, jewelry, wooden figurines, and other trinkets had rained down though Frank preferred to hear them sing rather than the have material items. Still he kept their offerings for he would have felt guilty for throwing them away having the only reason that they were not what he wanted.

He swam close to the shore, his moss green tail glittering and flashing every so often in the moonlight. But the singer did not notice too enraptured in the lullaby he was making up.

"Geteiltes Leid und gleichgesinnte-"

He sang in a delicate, tenor voice that surprised Frank. It wasn't quite the voice that belong to such a masculine man. Even the virginal white dressing gown he wore, did not detract from it. If anything, the way it billowed in the slight breeze lent him a spectral form.

"Sah einen Stern von Himmel gehen

Und wünschte sich sie könnte sehn"

But oh, what a childlike plaintive sound there was to his voice. What made this man's heart weigh so heavy with melancholy?

"Sie hat die Augen aufgemacht

Verließ ihn noch zur selben Nacht"

The man's voice lingered in a soft wail of misery on selben before finishing in a plain tone. It was almost a shame on how he finished such a woebegone lullaby. But perhaps it was in order to distance himself from the pain; no voice rang so true without bearing the heartache he sang about.

The silence that came was profound and tempted Frank to ask for another but when the man entered the ocean it stopped his hasty words. The gossamer gown clung to his broad shoulders, chest and powerful arms as he began the breaststroke. The merman followed after, curious about this songbird of a man.

As with the songs of old, no one swam in his waters anymore. It was because of the wolves that prowled at night in the yet untamed forest by the beach.

It had been a gruesome incident a year ago. Half starved wolves had crept into a cabin when the man had gone away to hunt and had left with blood stained muzzles. For weeks after Frank had remembered the horrid screaming of agony of the baby and womenfolk. The cabin had been abandoned by the husband who came home to the massacre and for months no more did Frank see humans. Those who had come for a while were young teenagers, which soon dwindled to none when they took to going into the forest.

The wolves must have been far away tonight to not have heard and attacked this songbird, and for this Frank was grateful. Perhaps the man would come to his ocean more often, for in the water the merman could guarantee this human complete safety.

The man swam until he came to a half submerged boulder; perfect for Frank to sun himself on, and clambered up onto it, the gown sealed to his skin. What a lovely merman he would have made, Frank thought diving down just as the man turned to face the beach. A hardy, awe-inspiring creature, no better body could be made for the water, He praised, coming up just a bit behind the man's side.

"Please do not play coy with me, Bright Scales." The man pleaded which shocked Frank. How had the man known that he was there? Frank had made sure to stay out of sight lest he frighten the man away; and the man had used an honorary term long forgotten by humans.

"I concealed myself and yet you found me; why do you call?" Frank questioned easily propelling himself in front of the boulder the man sat on.

The man gave a sad half smile that tugged at Frank's memory. "You don't remember the one that you named Canary, Bright Scales? But then I didn't think you would, I am not as young as I once was, nor are you. You have grown to be a ravishing merman and I have become an ugly old man." He chuckled, studying the merman with fondness.

"Canary?" Frank whispered, almost speechless.

"Wer Gutes tut dem wird vergeben, So seid recht gut auf allen Wegen-" Canary sang with the familiar growl and rolling R's that Frank had once heard.

"It is you, Canary!" The merman exclaimed, pulling himself up onto the rock that his old companion sat on.

"Do you remember my name? Or the songs I would sing to you? You swam with me one day when we were at sea for I called to you, and in return you asked me for songs."

"You were upon the ship named Morgenstern, I know because the whole crew would sing at times. And I remember the stories you told, how could I forget the song tales of Till the Canary?"

Till grinned before his eyes were caught by the glimmering of Frank's moss green scales.

"Your scales have darkened. They used to be -"

"To be the color of your eyes." The older man gave him a look, surprised at his choice of comparison. "I was sad when my scales turned dark because they were no longer such a beautiful color, but when my Canary went away I cared not for their loveliness."

Till smiled, a nostalgic look, as he reached out and affectionately held Frank's hand. "Then you will be happy to hear, Bright Scales, that I am to live in the abandoned cabin."

"But you cannot!" Frank protested clasping Till's hand within his own. "The wolves are man-eaters!"

"Do not worry for me, Frank, they won't harm me."

The merman opened his mouth to protest but Till's shake of the head silenced him. "I will be fine, little one. and now - if you have not lost your love for tales, I have many to tell."

Frank shook his head and settled himself on his side, tail curled back just as a man would curl up his legs. "I've missed your songs, no one sings to the ocean anymore."

"It is good, then, that I will be close to you again. Now, settle close for I've missed you and want you to hear well." Till gently ordered as he lay on his back, his arm curled around Frank when the merman laid his head on the older man's chest.

In this way he began his tale, his little one in his arms

"Wir sind für die Musik geboren..."


End file.
